Marcus Freeman Talks Transfer Portal Quarterback Plans

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman shared his thoughts on going to the transfer portal for a quarterback for a second straight season

College football’s transfer portal opens up on Dec. 4 and Notre Dame is ready to go shopping for another quarterback when it does. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed that earlier this month and now, heading toward his third season as head coach, the plan is to bring in a second quarterback via the portal.

Freeman has two scholarship quarterbacks on the current roster who will be on the team this spring in sophomore Steve Angeli and freshman Kenny Minchey. The plan is to add incoming freshman CJ Carr as an early enrollee as well this winter. The Irish head coach has specified the need to have a fourth scholarship quarterback on the roster this spring.

"Last year, I think, throughout the season once Tyler (Buchner) got hurt, I think we had three quarterbacks at that point on scholarship," Freeman stated. "My thought was that adding a fourth would make sure that we at least had three if somebody decides to transfer after the spring or when we decided to bring in a fourth. If we didn’t bring in a fourth and then somebody transferred when I named a starter at spring, now you’re left with two. 

"That’s kind of my thought process (as) we continuously move forward is that okay, having four protects you if somebody decides to leave from the end of the season until throughout spring," continued Freeman. "That’s the real reason why, even last year when I thought about this and then this year when I made the decision after the bye week that we needed a fourth quarterback on scholarship, that’s the real reason is that it isn’t that I don’t have a belief in the guys we have here. I have a strong belief in Steve and Kenny and then obviously we’ll have somebody coming in, but it’s more so if somebody decides to transfer, we have to make sure that we have at least three scholarship quarterbacks left.”

The addition of Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman last season drastically shook Notre Dame’s quarterback depth chart. Drew Pyne, who started 10 games while Buchner was injured last season, entered the portal in early December last year after being told of the team’s plan to bring in a transfer.

Buchner returned from his September injury to lead the Irish to a Gator Bowl win over South Carolina. He stayed through the spring and battled with Hartman for the starting job but entered the portal himself in the spring and followed former Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Alabama.

Pyne (Arizona State) and Buchner have each played in just two games with their new teams this season. Pyne threw two touchdowns and three interceptions against USC and Fresno State in September. He was also sacked 11 times in those two games after being sacked 15 times in 10 games at Notre Dame. He suffered multiple injuries and hasn’t played since the Sept. 23 loss to USC.

Buchner has no touchdown passes or interceptions to his credit this season in his two games against South Florida and Middle Tennessee. He did run for a touchdown after coming off the bench against MTSU, but he hasn’t played since Sept. 16 after Jalen Milroe took over as Alabama’s full-time starter.

Notre Dame has plenty of experience going to the transfer portal in recent years. They brought in Jack Coan from Wisconsin prior to the 2021 season when Freeman was in his first and only season as Irish defensive coordinator and then they got Hartman last season.

Thought the portal does not officially open until Dec. 4, Freeman says the evaluation process has long been under way.

"I think you’re always evaluating the top quarterbacks in the country,” Freeman explained. "If you wait until every quarterback enters the portal to say 'Okay, let’s evaluate them’, it’s going to be too late. The time frame of when a young man enters the portal to when they decide what school they’re going to, every second counts and every second matters. So, we’ve evaluated a lot of quarterbacks.

"We’ve evaluated a lot of different positions that could possibly enter the portal that we know would have another year,” Freeman continued. “As those guys enter the portal, we have to be able to make a decision right away, is this somebody that we feel fits our program and that's in terms of the athletic ability. The other side of that is going to be (does) their personality fit what we want here at Notre Dame and that’s what’s going to X a lot of guys off the list as you continue to talk to them and do research on each individual is that we’ve got to make sure we bring in the right guys to our football program, too.”

The winter transfer portal is open from Dec. 4, 2023 through Jan. 2, 2024. The spring transfer portal window is open from April 16-30.  

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